Fixing Common WordPress Errors

WordPress is powerful, but let’s be real—it can throw tantrums from time to time. Whether your site is acting up or straight-up refusing to load, here’s how to fix the most common WordPress errors.

1. The White Screen of Death (WSOD)

What’s Happening?

Your site is just a blank white screen—no errors, no warnings, just nothing.

How to Fix It:

• Clear Your Cache – There are two types of caching:

  • NGINX Cache – Clear this by clicking the Clear Cache icon in your control panel.

  • WordPress Cache – If you’re on Managed WordPress Hosting, log into wp-admin and clear the cache via WP Rocket.

• Disable Plugins:

  • For Managed WordPress Hosting Users: Use WordPress Toolkit:

    1. Open WordPress Toolkit in your control panel.

    2. Click Plugins.

    3. Deactivate plugins one by one to find the issue.

  • For Shared Hosting Users: You’ll need to disable plugins via FTP:

    1. Connect via FTP.

    2. Navigate to /httpdocs/wp-content/plugins/.

    3. Rename the plugin folders one by one (e.g., plugin-name-disabled).

    4. Reload your site after each rename to find the culprit.

• Switch to a Default Theme:

  • Managed WordPress Hosting Users: Use WordPress Toolkit to change themes.

  • Shared Hosting Users: Use FTP to rename your current theme folder under /httpdocs/wp-content/themes/ and WordPress will revert to a default theme.

2. 500 Internal Server Error

What’s Happening?

Your site crashes, showing a 500 Internal Server Error.

How to Fix It:

• Check .htaccess File –

  1. Connect via FTP.

  2. Go to /httpdocs/ (your document root).

  3. Rename .htaccess to .htaccess-old.

  4. Try reloading the site. If it works, go to Settings > Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes to regenerate .htaccess.

• Increase PHP Memory Limit –

  • Managed WordPress Hosting users already have 256M PHP memory by default.

  • If needed, modify wp-config.php and add:

    define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

• Disable Plugins & Themes – Follow the steps under White Screen of Death to disable them via WordPress Toolkit (Managed WP) or FTP (Shared Hosting).

3. Error Establishing a Database Connection

What’s Happening?

Your site can’t connect to the database—meaning no content, no admin access, nothing.

How to Fix It:

• Verify Database Credentials – Open wp-config.php and check that these match your hosting database settings:

  define('DB_NAME', 'your_database_name');
  define('DB_USER', 'your_database_user');
  define('DB_PASSWORD', 'your_database_password');
  define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

• Restart Your Database Server – If you’re on Managed WordPress Hosting, contact our support team for assistance.

• Repair the Database – Add this to wp-config.php:

  define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);

  Then visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php and follow the repair process.

4. 403 Forbidden Error

How to Fix It:

• Check File Permissions – Your files should be set to:

  • Folders: 755

  • Files: 644

• Reset .htaccess – Rename the file (as mentioned in the 500 error fix) and let WordPress regenerate it.

• Check Security Plugins – Disable any security plugins using WordPress Toolkit (Managed WP) or via FTP (Shared Hosting).

5. Stuck in Maintenance Mode

How to Fix It:

• Delete the .maintenance File –

  1. Connect via FTP.

  2. Go to /httpdocs/.

  3. Delete .maintenance.

  4. Reload your site—it should be back to normal.

6. Too Many Failed Login Attempts (503 Error on Managed WordPress Hosting)

How to Fix It:

• Find your public IP address (Google “What’s my IP?”).

• Contact our support team and provide your IP—we’ll remove the block from the firewall.

7. Debugging WordPress Errors with WP_DEBUG

How to Enable Debugging:

• Open wp-config.php via FTP.

• Add the following lines before /* That's all, stop editing! */:

  define('WP_DEBUG', true);
  define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
  define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

• Save the file and check for errors in /wp-content/debug.log.

8. Checking Error Logs via FTP

Where to Find Logs:

• Connect via FTP and navigate to /logs/.

• The main log file for PHP-FPM errors is:

  /logs/proxy_error_fpm.log

• Open the file and check for recent errors.

• If needed, share the log entries with our support team for further assistance.

Need Additional WordPress Help?

Our hosting support is focused on server and hosting-related issues. If your problem is related to WordPress plugins, themes, design, or development, our sister company, Media Giant Design, offers professional WordPress support and troubleshooting.

For hosting-related issues, we’ve got you covered.
For website fixes, contact Media Giant Design for expert help.
Visit Media Giant Design to learn more about their services.

Final Thoughts

These fixes should get your site back online quickly. If you’re stuck or need extra help with hosting-related problems, our support team is available 24/7. For advanced WordPress help, check out Media Giant Design. Otherwise, go build something great—without errors!